Legal Issues of Corporate CommunicationOnlineWorldSummary

8/6/2019 Legal Issues of Corporate CommunicationOnlineWorldSummary

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Steve Kuncewicz

Legal Issues of Corporate

Communication in an Online World

in aSSociation withPubliShed by


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Legal Issues of Corporate Communication in an Online World

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STEVE KUNCEWICZ

Legal Issues of Corporate

Communication in an Online World

IN aSSoCIaTIoN WIThPUblIShEd by


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Contents

III

Contents

Executive summary .............................................................................................................IX

About the author................................................................................................................XI

Dedication .......................................................................................................................XIII

Foreword ..........................................................................................................................XV

Part One: Theory and practice

Chapter 1: The corporate communications landscape A brave new world ........................ 3

Web 2.0 ad social media ....................................................................................................5

Whats ext? ........................................................................................................................ 7

Chapter 2: Social media Is it that important? ................................................................. 11

The Trafigura scadal .......................................................................................................... 11

The Ja Moir outcry ............................................................................................................ 13

Twitter becomes a respected jouralistic medium ................................................................15

Chapter 3: Opportunities and risks................................................................................... 19

Doig busiess olie .........................................................................................................19

The coersatio thats happeig without you ..................................................................20

Images o websites .............................................................................................................22

Part Two: Employee communications and the law

Chapter 4: E-mail Instant liability?................................................................................. 27

E-mail ersus hard copy ersus coersatio ......................................................................... 28

E-mail Legal risks .............................................................................................................28

Maagig the risk Policies ................................................................................................ 29

Summary ............................................................................................................................ 32

Stop press Gosden v Lifeline Project Ltd ET/2802731/2009, 28 July 2010 .......................... 33

Chapter 5: Employee monitoring The control panel ....................................................... 35

Itroductio ........................................................................................................................ 35

Data protectio ad moitorig ........................................................................................... 36


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Contents

IV

Commo law .....................................................................................................................39

Electroic commuicatios ad moitorig policies ............................................................... 41

Chapter 6: Employees and social media ........................................................................... 43

Is it that much of a risk? ...................................................................................................... 43

Pros ad cos ..................................................................................................................... 45

Legal issues ........................................................................................................................ 48

Where do we go from here? ................................................................................................56

Creatig a social media policy Key cosideratios ..............................................................58

Part Three: External communications and the law

Chapter 7: The Advertising Standards Authority and the CAP Code .................................. 65

The CAP Code Itroductio ..............................................................................................67

What does the CAP Code coer? ......................................................................................... 68What doest the CAP Code coer? .....................................................................................68

The rules ............................................................................................................................ 69

Status of the CAP Code ad compliace ..............................................................................73

Sactios ........................................................................................................................... 73

Oeriew ........................................................................................................................... 74

Case study: Ryaair ............................................................................................................74

Coclusios ....................................................................................................................... 76

Chapter 8: Other issues in advertising law ....................................................................... 79

Busiess to cosumer .......................................................................................................... 79

Busiess to busiess ............................................................................................................ 84Geeral legal cosideratios ...............................................................................................87

Iteral policies, processes ad guidelies ............................................................................93

Clearace checklist .............................................................................................................94

Part Four: Social media, brands and reputation

Chapter 9: Brands and domains ....................................................................................... 99

Itroductio ........................................................................................................................ 99

Brads ad the law ...........................................................................................................101

Chapter 10: Unregistered trade marks and passing-off ................................................ 103

Passig-off defied ............................................................................................................ 103

Domai ames Cybersquattig, typosquattig ad gripe sites .......................................... 106

How distictie does a domai ame hae to be to be protectable uder passig-off? ..........108

Domai ame disputes...................................................................................................... 109

Domai ames: A cautioary tale ......................................................................................110

Damages ......................................................................................................................... 111


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V

Remedies ......................................................................................................................... 112

Passig-off o the World Wide Web where are we ow? ................................................... 112

Chapter 11: Registered trade marks ............................................................................... 115

Why register a trade mark? ............................................................................................... 115

What is a registered trade mark? .......................................................................................117

Grouds for refusig registratio ........................................................................................ 117

Comparatie adertisig .................................................................................................... 120

Chapter 12: Trade mark enforcement and infringement ................................................. 123

Ifrigemet .....................................................................................................................123

Who ca be sued? ...........................................................................................................125

Defeces to ifrigemet ................................................................................................... 127

Remedies ......................................................................................................................... 129

How to aoid ifrigemet ................................................................................................ 129Coclusio ....................................................................................................................... 132

Chapter 13: Defamation ................................................................................................ 133

Defamatio atio? .......................................................................................................... 133

Who ca sue? .................................................................................................................. 134

What a claimat must proe ..............................................................................................134

What is publicatio? ....................................................................................................... 141

Referece to the claimat Idetificatio ............................................................................144

The differece betwee libel ad slader ............................................................................ 145

Limitatio ......................................................................................................................... 145

Defeces .......................................................................................................................... 146Cotetious ad tactical cosideratios ..............................................................................151

Remedies ......................................................................................................................... 153

Chapter 14: What makes internet libel so difficult to deal with? Practical points ............. 157

Idetificatio .....................................................................................................................157

Stop press Tweet i haste, repet at leisure ....................................................................... 160

Stop press The Defamatio Bill: A libel law for the 21st cetury? ....................................... 161

Part Five: Copyright in the online environment

Chapter 15: Introduction to copyright ............................................................................. 167

Copyright defied .............................................................................................................168

Which works ca be protected? .........................................................................................169

Copyright i cotext: Website ad social etwork cotet .................................................... 180

Chapter 16: Authorship, ownership and duration ........................................................... 181

Authorship ad owership ................................................................................................. 181

Who ows copyright? ........................................................................................................181


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Contents

VI

Duratio of copyright ........................................................................................................185

What are the rights of a copyright ower? .......................................................................... 185

Chapter 17: Copyright infringement ............................................................................... 187

Primary ifrigemet ......................................................................................................... 187

Checklist Primary ifrigemet: Is there a case? ...............................................................188

Likig, scrapig, framig ad other web-specific ifrigemets ...........................................192

Secodary ifrigemet ..................................................................................................... 194

Permitted acts ad defeces to ifrigemet ........................................................................ 195

Remedies for copyright ifrigemet ...................................................................................198

Damages What ca I get? ..............................................................................................199

Will iteret serice proiders pull the plug?........................................................................201

Chapter 18: Conclusions Where next? ......................................................................... 203

Part Six: Privacy, data protection and confidentiality

Chapter 19: Privacy ........................................................................................................ 209

Deelopmet of the law of protectio of persoal iformatio..............................................209

Whe ca a claimat brig actio for breach of priacy? .................................................... 211

Where do we go from here? ..............................................................................................212

Stop press Phoe hackig ...............................................................................................212

Stop press Priacy, super-ijuctios ad social media ...................................................... 215

Chapter 20: Data protection .......................................................................................... 221

Priacy issues i cotext .....................................................................................................221The Data Protectio Act 1998 ............................................................................................ 224

Persoal data ................................................................................................................... 225

How ca persoal data be processed? ...............................................................................228

Subject access requests ..................................................................................................... 234

Exceptios ........................................................................................................................ 237

Priacy policies ad collectig user data ............................................................................. 238

Data collectio oer the iteret ........................................................................................239

Sactios for breach of the 1998 Act .................................................................................240

Ciil remedies for breach of the 1998 Act .......................................................................... 242

Coclusios .....................................................................................................................242

Chapter 21: Confidentiality and the law ......................................................................... 243

What are the requiremets to brig a actio for breach of cofidece? ...............................243

Remedies for breach ......................................................................................................... 246

Defeces .......................................................................................................................... 246

Coclusio ....................................................................................................................... 247


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VII

Part Seven: Criminal content The online remit of criminal law

Chapter 22: Introduction ................................................................................................ 251

The offeces .....................................................................................................................254

Limits of liability ................................................................................................................ 254

Chapter 23: Harassment ................................................................................................ 257

What is harassmet? .........................................................................................................257

Pealties ........................................................................................................................... 258

Cautioary tales ...............................................................................................................258

Practical poits .................................................................................................................259

Chapter 24: Obscenity ................................................................................................... 261

What is obscee? ...........................................................................................................261

Who ca be liable? ..........................................................................................................261Pealties ........................................................................................................................... 261

Practical tips ..................................................................................................................... 263

Chapter 25: Incitement of racial hatred .......................................................................... 265

What is racial hatred? ..................................................................................................... 265

The offeces .....................................................................................................................265

Pealties ........................................................................................................................... 266

Practical tips ..................................................................................................................... 266

Cautioary tales ...............................................................................................................267

Chapter 26: Improper uses of public electronic communications networks ...................... 269What is improper use of a public electroic commuicatios etwork? ...............................269

Pealties ........................................................................................................................... 270

Cautioary tales ...............................................................................................................270

Practical tips ..................................................................................................................... 272

Chapter 27: Contempt of court ...................................................................................... 275

What is cotempt of court? ................................................................................................275

Cotet likely to gie rise to cotempt proceedigs ............................................................. 277

Whe are proceedigs actie? ......................................................................................... 278

Whe do proceedigs become iactie? .......................................................................... 279

Defeces .......................................................................................................................... 279

Practical poits .................................................................................................................280

Stop press Facebook juror jailed for cotempt of court ..................................................... 281

Chapter 28: Unfair commercial practices ........................................................................ 283

Pealties ........................................................................................................................... 284

Time limits ........................................................................................................................ 284

Practical poits .................................................................................................................284


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Contents

VIII

Chapter 29: Malicious communications .......................................................................... 285

What are malicious commuicatios? ................................................................................ 285

A cautioary tale ..............................................................................................................285

Applicatio of the Act ........................................................................................................ 286

Part Eight: Appendices

Appendix 1: Sample e-mail policy .................................................................................. 291

Appendix 2: Sample communications and social media policy ........................................ 295

Index ............................................................................................................................. 303


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IX

ILL START by makig a admissio, ad

oe which I thik is fairly obious: Im ot

a traied marketer, busiess deeloper or

commuicatios professioal. Those that

are may thik differetly, but my startig

poit i sittig dow to write this book was

to fall back o a clich which Ie comeacross whe workig with professioals i

all of the aforemetioed areas

stakeholders. Thikig that it might hae

a more complicated meaig tha the

atural ad ordiary (cocepts with which

libel lawyers are ery familiar), I did the

hoourable thig ad ra for the dictioary:

A perso or group that has a iestmet,

share or iterest i somethig, as a busiess

or idustry.1

Straightforward eough. From there Ilooked ito the cocept i the cotext of

busiess ad came upo the cocepts of

primary ad secodary stakeholders, i.e.

those without whom busiess cat exist

ad those without whom it ca. As part

of the ogoig struggle to stay o topic,

Ill focus o what I beliee to be the most

importat stakeholders i ay busiess

audiece (but ot i ay specific order

of importace):

Owers;

Maagers;

Staff;

Customers;

The public;

Competitors; ad

The goermet.

Yes, this is based o stakeholder marketig

ad a marketig professioal may argue that

there are plety of other ad better cocepts

aroud which to structure my argumets.

Howeer, it suits my purposes particularly

well ad helped to gie me the structure for

this etire project. What Im cocered withis how a busiess commuicates with eery

stakeholder o my list ad the legal issues

that arise as a result.

To add some more structure, Ie split

the book itself ito seeral parts: the first is

a oeriew ad map of the ladscape i

which corporate commuicatio takes place

i 2011; the secod cocetrates o relatios

with iteral stakeholders (ad their relatios

with each other); ad the third sectio

owards deals with exteral stakeholders.If Ie lied up to my itetio, this book

should proide a plai Eglish oeriew of

legal issues i corporate commuicatio. By

way of disclaimer, howeer, Id say this it has

become icreasigly clear to me as I become

more experieced that, i ay legal issue

arisig from the workigs of a busiess, lawyers

are o loger the most importat people i the

room. Like I say, Im o marketer ad Im ot

i PR. Whe a drama turs ito a crisis, we ca

maage may if ot most of its elemets, but

the best adice I ca gie you whe plaig

or aticipatig your respose to the issues dealt

with here is to put your team together ad

defie their roles. Heres a example:

Maagemet Proidig, where possible

ad appropriate, the public face of

Executive summary


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X

Executive summary

the respose to a issue ad makig

ultimate decisios as to how it should be

dealt with, takig adice ad iput from:

Lawyers Adisig o legal issues,

remedies ad strategic optios ad

accoutable to the maagemet, but

takig iput from:

Public relatios Adisig o exteral

perceptio, public reactio ad lookig

to ifluece opiio o the issue,

idetifyig egatie opiio ad cotet

takig adice o risk mitigatio from

the lawyers but aswerig to the busiess

ad feedig:

Commuicatios Dealig with the

o the groud respose to the issue,

with iput o toe ad cotet from

public relatios;

Huma resources Dealig with iteral

fallout from the issue i questio ad

correctly maagig outcomes i relatio

to related members of staff; ad

Olie team Updatig websites

where ecessary, feedig ew

iformatio from as may platforms

as possible to all of the aboe adcosiderig how the issue i questio

affects search egie results ad

olie perceptio.

This book should proide guidace which

will at least assist you i istructig your

lawyers, ad ocabulary ad/or traslatio

whe you receie their adice. The topics

coered, ad which I would imagie would

be amog those which your lawyers will

coer, iclude:

Legal risk ad moitorig of employee

use of IT ad commuicatios systems;

Employee use of social media;

Employee priacy ad data protectio;

Cofidetiality;

Copyright ad commuicatios;

Trade marks, passig-off ad

comparatie adertisig;

Defamatio Libel ad

malicious falsehood;

Domai ames ad disputes;

Adertisig ad marketig law; ad

Crimial sactios.

If this book doest proide you with a A to

Z of how to deal with the legal repercussios

of its subject matter, the it does at least

show you where to start.

Reference

See http://dictioary.referece.com/1.

browse/stakeholder.


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XI

About the author

STEvE KUnCEWICZ is a solicitor i the Itellectual Property & Media team at Gateley LLP i

Machester, hadlig maily cotetious matters for local, atioal ad multiatioal busiesses.

Stee specialises i social media ad is a leadig commetator o the subject, haig published

his first book, Legal Issues of Web 2.0 and Social Media, i Jue 2010. He speaks regularly o the

subject at atioal ad iteratioal cofereces ad is regarded as oe of the leadig members of

Machesters Twitterati.

Stee is described by cliets as brigig tact, discretio ad commo sese to busiessdealigs, a oe-off specialist i his field with a fairly uique uderstadig of IP Law [who] i

particularhas bee able to apply that to the olie eiromet with great ease ad foresight ad

a straight talkig professioal who kows his busiess as well as ayoe.

Stee is a regular media spokesperso ad has gie iteriews to the local ad atioal press

o arious IP ad media-related legal issues to outlets such as BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 2, Sky

news, Graada Tv, More4, BBC Radio Machester, Cetury FM, Talk 107, CityTalk, Rock Radio,

Kerrag Radio ad LBC.

Stee has appeared i the Law Society Gazette as Lawyer I The news ad has bee featured

i the Times, Financial Times, Daily Star, Mirror, Sun, Computer Weekly, Manchester Evening

News, Liverpool Echo, Crains Manchester Business, PR Week, Insider, EN Magazine, Credit Today,

Information World Review, How-Do, Sky Moie news, UK Scree, Financial Director, TSG Life, Musicand Copyright ad Computer and Videogames.

Stee is also heaily ioled i busiess deelopmet, deelopig Web 2.0 ad social media

strategy, ad wo a commedatio at the 2009 Golde Twit awards for best busiess-to-busiess

use of Twitter.

Stee is a board member of Pro-Machester, Hoorary Solicitor to the Machester Publicity

Associatio, a Coucil Member of Machester Law Society ad a Ambassador for Foreer Machester.


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